2.18.2012

Light of Faith, Follow Through

Howdy from Texas y'all! It's early, early on Saturday morning and I had hoped it would be another beautiful day but I guess it has to rain even here too at some point.

The trip is going well so far. Lots of projects crossed off the lists (more on that in a later post) and we even managed to sneak in a trip to Fort Worth to mosey around town, have some soul-satisfying Mexican food and stop by the bookstore.

Which was exactly where I was when I found out the news. You know, the news. The bad news. It was, honestly, like a blow to the gut. Although I know none of the accused, I felt personally betrayed. You have everything in the world going for you (especially the football players) and you do this?

For you regular readers, you know that I bleed purple for TCU and I am beyond grateful for not only the many opportunities my undergraduate experience provided me (let's be honest, where would Mr. B fit in this picture without TCU Study Abroad?) but also so proud of the immense transformation and growth it's experienced in the past five years.

A stunning campus - at least 10 new buildings in the past five years (and that's a low estimate, it's hard to keep track of these things when you're so awesome, you know, wink wink). An amazing football team - to resurrect a team from nothing to something in 10 years, become Rose Bowl Champions and take their place in the Big 12, well, that's nothing short of amazing. A successful alumni network - Horned Frogs are everywhere, you're just getting to know us. We did all these things with grace, honor and the right way. And most importantly, that despite through all these defining transformations, a campus community that is still committed to the values I am proud to embrace as a Frog.

Sadly, a group of our students was not. They made poor decisions and are paying the consequences. While I can't ever say I was a drug dealer (sheesh, the prospect of that is not only ridiculous, but also comical if you know me), but I made mistakes as a young adult. Find me one college kid who hasn't.

But here's the catch. Being a Horned Frog, by definition, means being held to a higher standard and it's not enough for our Administration or Athletics Department to say, "Well, it happens other places. It's only 17 kids. At least no one died." Those are excuses and it's time to face the music.

I am beyond proud of my alma mater this week. No, we didn't cover up our mistakes and attempt to hide them for years to maintain our squeaky-clean reputation. We came forward, owned up, took action and are moving forward. I mean. honestly, tell me how many schools CALL THEIR OWN PRESS CONFERENCE to report these things before the national media gets wind of it? (And that's why our Schieffer School of Journalism is pretty all-star too.)

I have 100% faith in the TCU Leadership to guide us through these trying times. With the ups, must come the downs, and it's how you respond during the downs that really defines your character.